Bramble/Summer 2018

Bramble Summer 2018 now available.

Greetings from the Editor

Editing Bramble has been a humbling, gratifying task. There were so many wonderful submissions that I agonized over what to include. But I came away with a renewed appreciation for the talent and diversity of our Fellowship. I hope that you feel the same—whether or not your work appears here—and that you’ll continue to torment future editors with your riches.

In the call for submissions, I asked for poems that demonstrated technique. The essays in this issue explore poetic technique from multiple angles. My interview with spoken-word savant Kavon Cortez Jones looks at the creative process of a rising young flâneur, while seasoned formalist Marilyn Taylor probes one of the mysteries of our craft—the line break—with that wit and sensitivity her readers have come to love.

And speaking of multiple angles: I am thrilled to feature Scott Allen’s Cubist painting “The Swing” on this issue’s cover! The image’s electric palette hooked me instantly. When I realized it depicted a baseball batter in motion, I desperately wanted it for Bramble’s summer release. I’m so grateful to Scott for his generous lending of the image.

I’m also indebted to Christina Kubasta for her tireless managing of submissions, and to Tori Grant Wellhouse for her layout and design. Theirs are entirely labors of love, so please be sure to thank them when you see them!

Finally, a caution. There are dark matters in the poems you’re about to read. They reflect the dire times we live in, as well as grievances which transcend time. I have done my best to arrange them in a way that answers our need for hope—without smothering their howl.

David SouthwardGuest Editor

Cover art is “The Swing" by Scott Allen. Allen is originally from Michigan where he attended Central Michigan University as an Art Major. Later he spent a couple years in Georgia at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He currently works as a freelance graphic designer in Milwaukee, where he also paints and designs marching band programs.

Allen paints in the Cubist style emphasizing the flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture plane. He presents a different reality in painting where the subject matter is portrayed by geometric, fragmented shapes and forms whose several sides and positions can be seen simultaneously.

See the evolution of "The Swing" from initial inspiration to final painting:

Pears

Annette Langlois Grunseth

Growing up in the shadow of WWII my brothergrabs a pear from the Green Stamp fruit bowl,pulls the stem out with his teeth, pretends to throw it,

Modern Family Diaspora

Religion

Constance Bougie

There is no god if I do not open the window. On the ninth floor ofNorth Scott—residence hall—my room is impenetrable. I wasraised a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Lutheran: my skinis impenetrable. It only yields to pretty older people with soft-looking hair. They have to like poetry. They have to be aromantic.